Ex-Bremerton punk rocker finds his groove in latest band

Jeff Fleming was a member of Le Max, a 1980s band from Bremerton that just missed making it big.

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Jeff Fleming practices in the garage of his South Kitsap home last week. Fleming drums in two Kitsap-based rock bands, and nearly made it big as a member of a 1980s Bremerton-based punk group known as Le Max.
(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

Larry Steagall

Jeff Fleming gave up his rock and roll dreams in the late 1980s, when he took a job at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard while helping raise three children. Now the former drummer for onetime almost-big punk rock band Le Max is regularly performing again.
(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

Jeff Fleming's drumset was recently featured in a blog post in an international drum magazine.
(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

Larry Steagall

Jeff Fleming gave up his rock and roll dreams in the late 1980s, when he took a job at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard while helping raise three children. Now the former drummer for onetime almost-big punk rock band Le Max is regularly performing again.
(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

Larry Steagall

PORT ORCHARD - More than two decades have passed since drummer Jeff Fleming last boarded a tour bus bound for a sold-out show.

His band, the Bremerton-based punk group Le Max, was once on the verge of signing a recording contract with a prominent label, their biggest break yet.

But inner turmoil and the shady dealings of its Los Angeles-based manager triggered the group's disbanding in the late 1980s, near the height of its popularity.

Fleming found that he had outgrown the rock and roll lifestyle and took an extended break to raise his three children. A native of Bremerton, Fleming resumed his career as a blacksmith at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1987, the same position he holds today.

Six years ago, he got the itch to play again. Packed arenas have been supplanted by local bars. Once a punk rocker, he now plays drums for Kitsap power pop band Boy Blue and the Moon and another called The Ras Project.

Even at the age of 52, Fleming looks every bit the part of an 80s musician, his long backcombed hair and black clothing a dead giveaway.

Standing inside his Port Orchard home's garage, which he calls his "Man Cave," Fleming recounts his first ever performance — a dance at East High School.

"We blew off some smoke pods and that backfired," he said. "The fire department had to come and clear the smoke out. It seems to me we were cleaning weeds for about a month out front by the school."

A year after graduating from East High School in 1976, Fleming moved into a house with his bandmates. They were watching TV one morning when the Sex Pistols came on.

"We thought, 'Wow, those guys are terrible. But look at the big audience. We can do that,'" he said.

Fleming and guitarist Tony Cole decided to break away and form a punk band of their own called The Crisis, the forerunner to Le Max (they named the band after Cole's dog, Max). By 1982, they had composed enough of their own music to land gigs at house parties, Pioneer Square venues and even gay punk bars.

Their first real taste of success came in 1983 after their single, Cope USA, climbed to No. 1 on KJET, a Seattle punk rock radio station.

Much of the song was written on a ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle. As was customary, the seven-man band made a dash for the squared-off booth in the corner of the passenger deck as soon as they stepped aboard.

"I swear by the time we left Bremerton and got over by Bainbridge Island, we had the song done. It was a short, kind of dumb song, and it took off," Fleming said.

"The whole song was about living in Bremerton and hanging out and not having a lot to do. Making things good. Just walking down Pacific Avenue."

The song's popularity led to an appearance on a KING-TV music program, where they performed live with Judas Priest and Night Ranger.

They returned to Bremerton a day later for a sold-out live show at Olympic College, a stark contrast from the dozen or so people who saw them play the previous weekend at a transvestite bar in Pioneer Square.

A music critic from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer likened the band to a cross between The Cars and The Clash.

"That was an honor because we loved both those bands," Fleming said. "We just wrote what we felt. We didn't really have a style."

A few years before the band's breakup, members of Le Max found themselves on tour, playing with the likes of Joan Jett and Romeo Void.

But the band's rise to near-stardom was derailed shortly thereafter.

"Our manager was involved in some very shady deals that led us to be blacklisted down in Los Angeles. It hurt. It was really tough on us," he said.

Nearing his fourth decade of drum playing, Fleming spends a lot of time in his garage, home to his collection of drums and equipment. It's also where both of his bands rehearse.

The jewel of the collection is a Ludwig drum kit designed by TV tattoo artist Corey Miller, one of just 250 ever manufactured. Fleming has added black chrome rims for extra effect.

The drum set is a big hit everywhere Fleming takes it. At a fundraiser held in Kirkland last year called Woodstick, a manager for legendary Yes drummer Alan White caught sight of the drums and snapped a picture.

The image found its way into a Drummer Magazine blog post. Said one writer: "This kit screams 'hard rock and everything else that is good and holy.'"

A little bit like its owner.

Boy Blue and The Moon will be performing at the Family Inn At Manchester on March 19th at 9 p.m.